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Nearly a month after the new NBA season, the best team in the East is neither the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks nor the powerful Brooklyn Nets. This is the upstart Washington Wizards, who led 10-3 after a 19-point victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. 

For the second consecutive game without Bradley Beal (personal reasons), the Wizards started slowly against Pells, trailing by as many as 19 points early in the third quarter. It looks like they lost for the first time in nearly two weeks, but they flipped the switch in the second half. They narrowed the score to only 7 points as they entered the fourth quarter, and took the lead with a score of 14-0 and ensured the victory. 

Spencer Dinwiddie led with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 18 points, and Deni Avdija came off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds because the Wizards ensured their best start of the season. 47 years old. In the 1974-75 season, the Wizards were led by Wes Unseld Sr. and formed a very good synergy. This team is coached by his son Wes Unseld Jr.. 

The Wizards’ hot start was obviously unexpected, but the way they did it was particularly surprising. They have been terrible on the defensive end and currently have the fourth-best defensive efficiency (102.7), while leading the league in their opponents' field goal percentage (42.4) and opponent's three-point percentage (30.7).

"I think a lot of it comes from the arrival of our newcomers," Kyle Kuzma said after the recent victory over the Cavaliers. "We are defensive-oriented people, but also coach Wes (Jr. Unseld). He did a good job. I think that many times in this league, the difference between good teams and bad teams is the defensive plan. ."

"When you come here-the first day of training camp, we want to be a top ten defensive team," Kuzma continued. "Well, how did we do it? Weiss puts us in a good position, there is really no mistake. You know how to do it. [If] this is an improvement, close to the side, we know what to do. The same Thing, "If they lock and track, we know what to do. This just clears out a lot of ideas you might have on the court, so you can play freely. "

In the past three seasons, the Wizards' defensive efficiency ranked 20th, 29th, and 27th in the league. But with Unseld's leadership, offseason new members and high-level buy-in, the Wizards have become one of the most difficult teams to play. In the game against the Pelicans, they relied on this defensive mentality, and in a game that changed the game with a score of 14-0, they didn't score for nearly five minutes. 

Let's take a closer look at how they did it. 

Since Zion Williamson is still injured, most of the Pelicans' offensive burden falls on Brandon Ingram. Although he scored 31 points in this game, he needed 23 shots to get there. The Wizards really let him work and shut him down in the fourth quarter, limiting him to 3 of 11 shots. 

They did this with old-fashioned hard work. Because of this performance, Denis Avdia has become a key guard for the Wizards. Here, he fought through two screens, then sat down to prevent Ingram from entering the penalty area and making a long two-pointer. 

This is a perfect example of how success on the defensive end is not always about spectacular, locked possessions, but about playing consistent games time and time again. The team may not respect Afdia on the defensive end, but if he continues to play like this, they will respect it soon. 

"I think I was a good defender even last year, but last year I didn't get the most respect," Afdia said earlier this season. "I'm just, this is my heart, you know? I'm not the most athletic. You see people always bring pick-and-rolls to me. They think they can attack me, they think they can score me, and it's fun ."

As a second-round pick in 2019, Daniel Gafford did not perform much at the beginning of his career. But after being traded to the Wizards at the deadline last season, he suddenly appeared in the team's playoffs and became an important part of the team's playoffs. He won the starting center position this season and provided the team with much-needed athleticism and defense at the basket. 

His three blocks against the Pelicans have given him his third three-block game this season, and he currently ranks seventh in the league with 1.7 blocks per game. Perhaps his biggest appearance was late in the fourth quarter, when Herb Jones went downhill from cover and tried to take it all the way to the basket. Garford worked perfectly and was met with great rejection. 

An interesting aspect of the Wizards defense is that they actually didn't force that many turnovers. In fact, they rank last in the league, with only 12.5 opponent turnovers per game. But in the game against the Pelicans, they came up with something big when it was important. 

With less than 3 minutes left in the game, trailing by 2 points, the Pelicans won their key stop and have a chance to tie or regain the lead. Instead, Kentavius ​​Caldwell-Pope skipped the pass and made a big steal, eventually allowing Montrez Harrell to make two free throws, extending the Wizards' lead to Four points. 

Not forcing turnovers may make it difficult for the Wizards to maintain this level of defense, but it is clear that they care, are all on the same page, and are willing to work hard to perform well on that end of the court. This alone is sufficient for most nights. 

"The coach came up with a simple game plan, as far as each team is concerned, whether it's offensive or defensive," Harrell said earlier this season. "But you know, the coach does all the little things that some people might not want to do at times. We are all bought and tied up and support him 100% because at the end of the day, it's a collective effort."

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